Lines from Thursday's game. Subject to change.
Forwards
Vladislav Namestnikov - Steven Stamkos - Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat - Brayden Point - Tyler Johnson
Alex Killorn - Yanni Gourde - Cory Conacher
Chris Kunitz - Cedric Paquette - Ryan Callahan
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Jake Dotchin
Mikhail Sergachev - Anton Stralman
Slater Koekkoek - Dan Girardi
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy or Peter Budaj
Saturday's Matchup
Tonight's game is the fifth in a stretch of six straight versus Western Conference foes for Tampa Bay...The Lightning and the Avalanche are playing their second of two meetings this season and the only one at Pepsi Center...Tampa Bay earned a 5-2 win over Colorado nine days ago at AMALIE Arena behind three-point nights from Steven Stamkos (goal, 2 assists) and Vladislav Namestnikov (goal, 2 assists)...Peter Budaj made his fifth start of the season and earned his second victory in that win after stopping 28-of-30 shots...The Lightning have won two straight in Colorado after losing six in a row previously (0-4-2 from 2006-07 to 2014-15)...The Bolts are 5-12-2 with two ties all-time in Colorado...Lightning goaltender Peter Budaj has won three-straight starts against Colorado, including a 22-save
shutout (Feb. 1, 2017 while with LAK), giving up three goals combined in the three wins...Dan Girardi recorded his first multi-point game (2 assists) with the Lightning on Dec. 7 vs. Colorado...Chris Kunitz has scored a goal in two-straight games and has points in five straight (3-2--5) vs. Colorado...Alex Killorn has recorded a point six of the last seven times he's faced the Avs (2-4--6)...Brayden Point and Vladislav Namestnikov are each on two-game goal streaks vs. Colorado.
Saturday's Storylines
The Lightning continue to pace the NHL for wins (23), points (48), ROW (22), points percentage (.774), goals (116) and goal differential (+42)...Tampa Bay is off to its best start in franchise history with 48 points through 31 games, seven points better than the 41 points put up by the 2014-15 team (19-9-3) through 31 games...The Lightning lead the NHL for goals per game (3.74) and rank third for goals against per game (2.38) and are the only League team in the top six in both categories...The Bolts current six-game win streak is tied for the third-longest in franchise history (longest: 9-straight wins from Feb. 18 to March 5, 2016)...The Lightning's 11-1-0 record against Western Conference teams is the best record by an East team against the West.
Injuries
2017-18 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 33
Current injuries
Braydon Coburn - Lower body (DAY-TO-DAY) 6 Games
Transactions
Dec. 8 - Re-assigned D Jamie McBain to AHL Syracuse
In the Nik of Time
Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov tallied a goal and an assist Dec. 14 at ARI for his NHL-leading 15th multi-point game of the season…Kucherov has scored a goal in three-consecutive games and 19 of 31 games this season…Kucherov pulled into a tie for the NHL goal lead on Thursday.
Tampa Bay is 17-1-1 this season when Kucherov scores a goal…Kucherov has five goals in December after scoring just four in all of November…Kucherov recorded his 43rd and 44th point on Thursday and pulled ahead of teammate Steven Stamkos and into the NHL scoring lead.
Over the last two seasons, Kucherov leads the NHL for goals with 62 (second: PIT's Sidney Crosby - 57) and ranks second for scoring with 129 points (first: EDM's Connor McDavid - 139).
Johnny on the Spot
Lightning forward Tyler Johnson tallied a goal and an assist Dec. 14 at ARI to extend his point streak to a season-high six games (4-7--11)...Johnson can match his career best for points in consecutive games (3-6--9 over 7 games from Feb. 22-March 10, 2015) with apoint vs. Colorado...Johnson has recorded multiple points in four-straight games and five of his last six...Johnson has points in eight of his last nine games (4-9--13)...Johnson has as many points in December (4-7--11 in 6 games) as he did in Oct. and Nov. combined (4-7--11 in 15 games).
